Like an Ocean
by MadAsAMage
Summary: Long before the insanity of the First Order and the nightmare of Kylo Ren, Rey dreamt of an ocean, an island, and a crushing sense of loneliness. The Force obviously wasn't above nudging its users along a bit. AU.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Oh, hello there! Just a quick word before you dive in. This story is a pretty open to interpretation about the pairing. And before I forget, nothing from SW universe belongs to me. For now, enjoy!

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The ocean was huge, more than exceeding her wildest expectations. Rey couldn't stop herself from staring while the Falcon slowly circled around the island in its middle; small, grassy speck of land full of rocks and dangerous cliffs. From above, there was no trace of civilization, and it looked all but abandoned eons ago. Yet she could feel it. There was something on it which had been calling to her through time and space for as long as she could remember.

It was the island she had spent years dreaming about, and Rey felt her heartbeat pick up. She knew the place, and she knew that a man lived there in complete isolation. She had felt his loneliness, his pain, and those emotions were intimately familiar to her. It was always hard to tell which feeling was hers – and which bled through the dreams and belonged to him.

Chewie did one more circle around – and there, oh, there! Rey blinked and stopped breathing for a second. A lonely figure stood on top of a high cliff.

It was him, that man. Then her gaze widened when the realization hit her full force; he was also Luke Skywalker. When she had set out to find the last Jedi master, Rey had had no idea what to expect. However, she had not imagined this place, least of all _him_.

Her blood ran cold, and she gripped the armrests tightly in her fists. All of her hopes shattered right in front of her while she gazed at the familiar surroundings. Faces flashed before her eyes – Finn, Poe, General Organa's hopeful eyes. They all hoped for Skywalker's return, he was supposed to be the one to turn the tide of their endless war against the First Order, their last hope.

Rey took a deep breath shakily. What she had thought to be only dreams, a recurring theme to alleviate her own loneliness had been real all the time. Her imaginary friend was real. His pain was real, his sorrow, all of his demons.

Force, Luke Skywalker was broken.

Unbidden and unwelcome, the memory came to her mind as Chewie found a place to land near the only sandy beach on the whole island. _That_ beach.

"What's that?" Rey asks. Her voice is small, and her hazel eyes are too dark, too large on her sunburned face. It's one of the first times she sees him. "What's that feeling? You're cold."

He is just a dark shape somewhere in front of her, but Rey is not afraid. He hurts, she can tell. His shoulders are slumped, and his head bowed. He's shivering. Slowly, the man turns, and Rey blinks, surprised. Blue eyes are watching her, face half hidden behind a long scruffy beard.

His clothes, the tips of his too long hair and beard are wet, and Rey can't wrap her mind around that. Where in the world could exist enough water to do that to someone's clothes? Definitely not on Jakku.

"Oh, hello, young one." The voice is hoarse. Was he crying? When Rey cries and screams, in the night, when those unpleasant dreams come, she wakes up in the morning talking like that. "You should not be here, though it's nice to have some company. Even if it's only in my mind."

Funny, Rey thought that he was in _her_ dream. "What are you doing?"

He hesitates and takes a slow step towards her. The strange weightless feeling they share, cold and unfamiliar, abates a bit the closer he gets to Rey. Then they are left freezing. Rey tries to see what is behind him but there's only darkness. The only thing she sees clearly is him.

"What was that?" Rey gasps and wraps her arms around herself. "What were you doing?"

After a heartbeat, he crouches in front of her. There's sand under their feet now, it clings to him. Blinking back tears, he thinks for a moment before he says, "Swimming."

"Swimming?"

"That's what you do in water. Have you never swum?"

"No." Now Rey is shivering violently. "There's not much water on Jakku, you know."

"I suppose it's not." He gazes away from her, his own body shaking with cold. "That's a desert planet, isn't it?"

"I don't like sand," Rey grumbles. It gets everywhere, and it's scratchy and – she doesn't like sand at all. She digs her toes into it and frowns. When it's wet, it feels different, almost pleasant. Perhaps she doesn't like only the sand on Jakku.

At that, the man turns back to her, and he gives her a small smile. "I don't like it either."

"Do you usually sw-swim in your clothes? It doesn't feel very good."

"Ah, no, not usually. I just," he stops and buries his face in his hands, stifling what Rey knows is a sob. He coughs and rubs his eyes. "You don't swim with most of your clothes on. As you pointed out, it's not a very pleasant experience."

Rey wants to answer, but then she catches a glimpse of something behind him and gasps. There's water, lots of it, filling the whole horizon. Its dark blue and it reflects the moonlight.

"What is that?"

"An ocean."

"It's very pretty."

He nods and observes her while Rey gawks at the miracle. They remain silent for a long time, their breaths leaving their bodies in small puffs of vapor. Then she notices again the tremors running through his body and tears her eyes from the water. They are very, very cold, she realizes.

"You can freeze to death in winter at night. I saw a man who died like that once. You should get warm." Rey says and touches his face. He starts, and his eyes widen at the contact. Her hand radiates warmth and Rey become aware of something important.

"Y-you should get w-warm, too," he says, choking back emotions she can't understand. She knows now that the cold she feels is coming from him. Rey is safely tucked in her blankets in an AT-AT she found earlier in the week. She thinks she will make it her home. Better than to share with other orphans in Niima.

"I'm not cold, silly." With all the decisiveness of a nine-year-old, Rey smiles and wraps her arms around his neck. The beard is as scratchy as it looks, but she doesn't mind. The best way to keep warm is to share body heat. Lessons of survival are the first children of Jakku learn otherwise they don't last long. "You are. Is there a place where we can make fire?"

For a few heartbeats, he remains still and then returns the embrace with a shuddering breath. He picks her up from the sand and carefully rises to his feet. Stumbling, he leaves the ocean behind. The last thing Rey does before she wakes back in her old AT-AT is touching her small palm to his cheek again.

It took her most of the afternoon to climb the cliff. She knew the way just fine – there wasn't much chance of getting lost on the island anyway. Skywalker had remained where she had first glimpsed him, and when she finally approached him, he had his back turned to her.

"I did not expect anyone to find me so soon." The voice was rusty from disuse, the tone detached, yet Rey had no doubt that it was him. Slowly, the pieces clicked into place. She was Force-sensitive, and he was a Jedi master, and they were probably the only active Light users left in the whole galaxy – General Organa had made her opinion known loud and clear. The Force itself meant for them to meet and obviously, the Force was not above nudging them along a bit.

With this knowledge in mind, Rey felt braver facing him. Her words came out loud and clear, "I did not expect to be here at all."

Skywalker whirled to face her with lightning speed. His face betrayed his shock at hearing her voice, and disbelief when he saw her standing in front of him. The eyes which usually held only sorrow were round and full of alarm. His hand went to the lightsaber at his belt.

She felt the danger keenly and could only imagine what went through his mind as he stared at her, breathing hard. He probably thought it was a trick, or that he had lost his mind. Neither was a pleasant conclusion that bode well for her.

Rey had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep silent while Skywalker fought the fight/flight impulse. She was the last person he had expected to see, ever. Rey could relate. She watched him calmly and cataloged everything she saw. It had been some time since they had shared a dream together. More than two years.

Skywalker's Jedi robes were in pristine condition, but the same could not be said about their owner. He looked tired and worn out, hair unkempt, beard too long – both streaked with silver. What made Rey pause was, however, the absence of his presence.

She blinked slowly. She could not feel him. Not that Rey was now an expert on all things connected to the Force, but once the Force within her had awakened, it was just there – constantly in the back of her mind. She had been able to feel Kylo Ren and General Organa. She was even aware of where her borrowed lightsaber was when she had not it with her, and she sometimes got a hunch where her friends were on the base. With Skywalker, it was if the space in front of her was empty.

"Rey?" he asked eventually, almost timidly. Rey heaved a sigh of relief when his posture relaxed. "Oh, I was so certain I was awake. What are you doing here? I thought that those dreams stopped."

Now he looked utterly confused. That made two of them. Rey had no idea how to approach this. He was Luke Skywalker, for Force sake, and Rey was the only one aware of how damaged the legendary hero had become.

"I'm afraid not."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm afraid that neither of us is dreaming."

Skywalker only blinked at her and Rey took a fortifying breath and stepped closer. Very carefully, she unfastened the lightsaber and offered it to him.

"I came across this, and I thought I would return it to you. It's built for someone much taller than me, you see. I keep destroying the flooring."

He blinked again, rapidly. "That's a lightsaber. My father's lightsaber."

"I know."

"I never told you anything about my family."

"Not even your name, Master Skywalker."

He started and took a quick step back, his face darkening. "No, I certainly did not tell you my name. Rey, this is becoming bizarre. I think it would be best for you to go."

Rey wisely took a step back, too. He thought it was all a dream again, didn't he? That complicated things a bit. Could he not sense her presence? That should be enough to make him see. What had he done to himself? Had he cut himself from the Force? Could he still help the Resistance or teach her in any capacity? Immediately after the idea entered her mind, she felt ashamed, selfish. She wasn't there to exploit the man, and Force knew that Skywalker had paid his dues the first time around. Still, the doubt lingered.

Rey knew that Skywalker's exile was connected to the rise of the First Order, to the destruction of the Jedi Academy and turning of Ben Solo to the Dark Side. However, she would not believe that someone like him would allow evil to break him. It wasn't like the Luke Skywalker she had heard about as a child, and it definitely was not like the man she had come to know.

Her 'imaginary' friend was kind and compassionate and stronger than he knew. As Rey thought these thoughts, another piece clicked into its place, and she sucked in a breath sharply. Could it be?

Skywalker frowned and worry flashed in his eyes as he approached her again. "I did not mean it like you are unwelcome. It's good to see you, of course. It's just… It's been almost three years."

With a pang, Rey realized that he had kept count. She had been in contact with others during that time. Most of those encounters had hardly been pleasant, that's for sure, but she had not been deprived of basic human (and non-human) interaction. She had made real friends, too. Skywalker had been alone. Perhaps the absence of the shared dreams had only damaged his already fragile mind further.

"It's been too long but honestly, I have no idea how these Force connections work." Rey put the lightsaber back to its place and then reached out a hand towards him. The easy familiarity of the dreams was gone – going for an embrace felt like too much, too soon.

Skywalker blinked yet again and took her hand between both of his. The metal of his artificial right hand felt cold, and Rey wondered what went through his mind as the observed hers. He traced the lines on her palm next and then gazed back into her face. "Force connections?"

She nodded solemnly. He dropped her palm at once, and a new wave of alarm entered his eyes. Rey could see how he connected the dots, too, how the reality of the situation finally reached him. His face blanked, resembling a smooth, cool mask, his eyes hardened into two shards of ice.

"Who are you?"

"Ray from Jakku but you already know that."

"No. No! Who are you? What are you? Why did you come?"

Rey startled at the questions, surprised at the anger in his voice. She did not feel anything from him like every other time she had stood before Skywalker, and it was a disconcerting notion. Their emotions were their own now.

"You know that, too."

They stared at each other, and Rey desperately wished to make this right. It was horrible – not only for him but also for her. It was one thing to reveal so much of oneself to a person created by your imagination, it was something completely different showing those fractured parts to a real person. Skywalker knew her like no one else did like no one else could and she knew him just as thoroughly. They had shared dreams and feelings for years, for Force sake!

She knew the signs of approaching breakdown, too; Skywalker was breathing hard, blinking in rapid succession, fisted his hands as the first tremors shook his frame. It wasn't the first time, and it wasn't the last, and it had always been awful to see, to feel. Not that Rey had remained to witness the worst of it. Skywalker's emotions had had to cut the connection in those times, before the poisonous sense of betrayal, hurt and anger could envelop her fully.

"Please." The word slipped out before she could stop it. Rey reached towards him one more time and touched his arm. "Please, Master Skywalker…"

"Do not call me that." He flinched and bowed his head, facing away from her. Yet he stayed standing where he was, grounded by the contact. It felt the same yet different, more solid, warmer.

"Alright. Is there a place where we can talk?"

The question was not unfamiliar. Many of their previous conversations had started or ended with Rey's curious 'is there a place where we can…?' and Rey could see how it affected him, slowly dispelling the approaching storm of Skywalker's darker, more dangerous emotions. Weren't Jedi Knights, let alone Masters, supposed to be above all those things?

He watched her intensely for long moments, and Rey noticed that he had begun mimicking her breathing pattern. In and out, slowly, steadily.

"Why did you come? What do you want from me?" His voice was surprisingly calm, only slight hitch near the end betrayed him.

Answering that was simple and it made wonderful sense. Rey skimmed the sleeve of his robe and touched his hand, the left one, gently squeezing his fingers with hers. The Force wanted her to come here, to find him. Why? She was a fledgling Jedi, a passable fighter with a staff, satisfactory pilot. She had no family and only a handful of friends. She didn't have much to recommend herself – but she had always been damn good at fixing things.

"This is where I am supposed to be."

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AN:

*nervously peeks out of her hiding place*

That's it. I've done it! Hope you like it – I never wrote fanfiction before, so I was pretty scared to share it with the whole world. So, let me know what you think. Should I make it multi-chapter? Where would you like to see the two of them go? I have some ideas, but I'd be happy as our two Labrador puppies to hear your thoughts (and we have the happiest doggies you can imagine)! If you haven't guessed, English is my second language, and I really do hate commas. Anyone interested in beta-reading this baby? And oh, the story is also posted on A3 under Mad_Mage.

*ducks behind a massive bowl of popcorn*


	2. Chapter 2

Welcome back and to get the pesky disclaimer out of the way: still not mine.

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"Don't fool yourself, Rey. The Force never plays an active part in the galaxy." Skywalker whispered, and she could feel how his fingers twitched as if he wanted to squeeze her hand. "It is a passive entity, emotionless, unmoved by the happenings in the universe, content to simply be. It's us who are searching for a deeper meaning in its manifestations. Let me tell you, there's none."

"You are the expert." Rey conceded with a shrug, sensing they would have to revisit this topic much later. She could almost taste the unpleasant taste of his bitterness towards the Force, sharp and poignant. His brows furrowed and Rey quickly continued.

"I just like the island, the ocean. It's beautiful. And you are here, and you are real. I don't need any other reasons to be here, Mas-" she stopped in time and gave him a small sheepish grin, willing him to believe this at least. Did he understand what she was trying to say? Rey wasn't sure herself. She believed in the Force and saw this situation in an entirely different light than Skywalker.

She hadn't thought it possible to have a destiny, a meaning, be someone who mattered. Yet here she was, learning that something so much bigger than her had led her to a man who needed Rey's help before he could go and save the rest of the galaxy. It was a heavy burden for a girl from Jakku to carry, and she tried very hard to suppress the accompanying feelings of utter terror.

Why me? That was the question Rey wanted to ask, like so many before had, but she thought better of it. Why not? She liked to do nice things for people who were important to her and Skywalker had been the person closest to her for most of Rey's life. Knowing he was real, how could she refuse to help? It was inconceivable to leave the island, to turn her back to the Force – to let her _friend_ suffer so.

Skywalker stared at her for a long time, and Rey was unable to read his expression. A rather large part of her was happy she could not feel his emotions because his eyes were filled with pain so acute she expected him to keel over. Hesitantly, he squeezed her fingers back.

Then his eyes darted around almost nervously, and he let go of Rey's hand, passing her and heading towards the stairs. "The wind's picking up. Come, or we'll be blown off the cliff."

"That doesn't sound like a pleasant experience, Master Skywalker." Rey jogged after him. He certainly didn't move like a man his age – even though Rey was not entirely certain how old Skywalker actually was. "Oh-uuumph!"

He stopped abruptly, and Rey crashed right into his back, bracing herself against his shoulder blades.

"I remember telling you not to call me that," he said, voice tight, and Rey caught only a glimpse of his face when he cast a glance at her over his shoulder. She could feel how he tensed under her palms. "I'm no one's master."

"Alright." Rey nodded and quickly lowered her hands as if burnt. "But how can I call you, then?"

"I don't think we need to cover that, Rey. It was nice of you to visit, but you are not staying here much longer." His voice changed, sounding completely void of emotions, detached and empty. It felt wrong – she had never heard him use a tone like that.

He started to walk down, without another word, without turning when Rey shouted, "What? No! Wait! Come back!"

Damn the man, _he_ was the one jogging down the stairs now to lengthen the distance between them while Rey slipped and stumbled after him on the moss-covered stones. The most painful memory of her childhood echoed in the back of her mind, the same words, the same feeling. _Wait. Come back_.

When Rey made it down the cliff, the suns were setting, and there was no trace of Master Skywalker. She hated the stairs, the moss. Who would have guessed how something so nicely green could be so slippery.

Rey sent a message to Chewie not to worry and not to wait for her with dinner, or at all. Then she spent almost half an hour looking for the hidden path leading to the several small stone huts on the leeward part of the island. She wasn't that helpless child anymore and walking away from her did not mean the conversation was over.

After another ten minutes, she found Skywalker's dwelling. She knew which hut was his – it was the only one with a roof and walls which he had painstakingly repaired with his own hands. Light poured of the single small window near the door.

Rey took a deep breath and knocked.

No response.

She knocked louder.

Then she knocked with her boot, the door rattling in its hinges.

"Go away."

"No!"

"I said, go away! What part of that do you not understand?"

"Well, I don't plan on going anywhere!"

She didn't remember him being this stubborn. Rey hit the door one last time and marched a few steps away from the hut. She felt as if she should be more respectful, more mindful with whom she was talking. However, for Rey, he was not some unreachable legend, not even her teacher who deserved respect by default. For Rey, whose nerves had suffered several terrible shocks in a very short span of time, he was just unreasonable, and it made her blood boil.

Force, they had not even broached the subject of the Resistance or her training. Had she mentioned that she was Force-sensitive enough to have Kylo Ren offering her an apprentice position? Rey wasn't sure.

There was a stone bench close to the hut, and Rey made her way to it walking backward, sitting down tiredly, and all the while burning holes through that door with her eyes. She could take it off the hinges, she knew she could. There was enough frustration bubbling under her skin to probably level the whole hut to the ground. Then again, from the little scraps she had gathered, the Jedi did not act in anger – that could lead them dangerously close to the Dark Side.

Rey's eyes widened, and she gasped, her hand coming up to cover the mouth.

Anger. Pain. Fear. The Dark Side.

How tempting it was for Rey to knock on Skywalker's door with the Force because she was a little frustrated with him? The thought had entered her mind, and what was worse, she knew that using the bit of anger as fuel for it was easy. Almost natural.

Those emotions were very close to the surface in him. How tempting it was for Skywalker to use the betrayal of his nephew as fuel for revenge? Not because someone had not opened a door, but because someone had murdered every single one of his students, burnt down his home, destroyed his family and thrown the whole galaxy into chaos.

Rey shivered and turned away from the hut, pulling her knees close to her chest and mentally preparing herself for an uncomfortable night.

The darkness fell. The temperature dropped. The door stayed closed.

When the dream comes, Rey is aware of its true nature. The emotions are enough to squeeze a gasp out of her, and she fights for breath, trying to not choke on the remorse. Slowly, she rises from the bench and opens the door.

Skywalker is sitting there in semi-darkness. The fire went out, and only glowing embers remain, painting him in harsh red and orange colors. He is hunched over near the fireplace, hands clasped tightly between his knees, head bowed, staring at nothing.

The guilt is suffocating. How can one man feel so much without being crushed by the weight of those emotions?

"Hey."

"Come and sit. It's cold outside." He doesn't – can't – look at her. Rey doesn't hesitate and flops down on the floor next to him, seeking the lingering warmth of the fire. It really is cold outside, almost freezing. She idly wonders about the island's weather. The afternoon was pleasant, but most of her memories hold an undercurrent of ever-present chill in the air.

She observes his profile, the deep lines carved into his face, the defeated look in his eyes. She finds herself wanting to reach out to him as she has done countless times before but Rey stops herself. It feels too intrusive now she knows the truth. Outside of this dream, Skywalker shies from contact, and she will respect that.

"Don't."

"What am I doing?"

"Do not look at me like that."

Rey feels the urge to cry, but she also knows that Skywalker will not. It has always been her who shed the tears without really understanding why she felt in such a way. Her own heart is breaking with the knowledge, and it is so damn uncomfortable. The last thing she wants is for Skywalker to feel how much his heartache hurts her. He can interpret it as pity, and Rey has a feeling that Skywalker wouldn't stand that. She doubts they can lie to each other, sharing emotions effectively cancels that, but they still can misunderstand and misinterpret the feelings, or omit the truth.

"Like what?"

"Like it's alright, Rey. It's not. I-" he clears his throat and covers his eyes with his good hand. The guilt, the shame, the fear accumulated over the years are too much for one person to feel. He has to let go. "I'm sorry."

"I know." On its own accord, Rey's hand rises and gently rests on his forearm, pulling his hands away to see his face. "I can't help I look at you like it's alright, you know. For me, it is – no harm done."

"No harm done?" Skywalker repeats incredulously and turns to Rey. A humorless chuckle forces its way out of his mouth, and he shakes his head. "How can you say that? Don't you see? I have ruined _everything_ I have ever touched."

"You haven't." Returning his gaze without blinking, she curls her fingers around his forearm. He doesn't shy away this time, only stares at her as if he is seeing her for the first time. In some ways, this really is their first meeting.

Rey can feel when he starts pushing those gut-wrenching emotions away because their oppressive weight slowly lifts and eventually disappears, leaving them – him – just tired and empty. Rey lets it go for the moment. His guilt is one of the many things they will need to deal with in the future but now is not the time.

"I'm sorry I didn't open the door," he says suddenly, and a fresh wave of his shame washed over them, quickly followed by a spike of anger directed at himself, not Rey. "That was very rude of me."

"It's fine," Rey assures him and lets go of his arm. "You were upset and so was I. It's probably a good thing we didn't talk."

"No, Rey, it's unforgivable." Skywalker rises and goes to the other end of the hut where his cot is. He tugs at the blanket and brings it to her, throwing it over her shoulders without meeting Rey's eyes. "I've left you outside."

"I've endured far, far worse, you know." Rey shrugs. She really doesn't understand why he is getting so emotional over the little disagreement. It is nothing major, and they apparently got over it – at least Rey hopes so because she is not leaving the island anytime soon.

"Yes, exactly!" Skywalker slowly sits back down. With his gaze averted to the fireplace, he reaches for Rey's hand. The movement is quick and decisive, but his touch feels like a brush of a feather – as if he reached for her before he could think better of it and then gave her enough space to pull away.

Rey doesn't, only observes him with curiosity.

"I am well aware of that. I was there when you were hungry and cold, discarded by those who had no longer any use for you. I remember… well," he says almost inaudibly. "Even if my mind tried to convince me it was not real, I remember wishing to be able to help you so you would never go another night without food and a warm hearth, thinking you didn't matter."

Something warm flutters around them, tentative and caring – like a gentle breeze caressing sunburned skin. Rey furiously blinks several times. Skywalker stares straight ahead, holding her hand loosely in his, breathing heavily.

"I am so very sorry for not opening the door, Rey." He turns to look at her and Rey finds herself gazing into a pair of familiar eyes filled with regret. Even in the reddish glow of the dying embers, they are still so very blue – like the ocean surrounding the island. He's not the Jedi Master Skywalker, the Rebellion war hero and the last hope of the Resistance. He is her oldest friend. It's time to start acting like it.

"It's alright, Luke," Rey says and smiles, knowing he can feel her sincerity when the hold on her hand becomes firmer. All is well, at least for now.

When Rey opened her eyes in the morning, she found herself wrapped in a warm blanket and a long cloak smelling faintly of leather and something light and sweet. She was curled on the cot inside of Luke's hut, and daylight was streaming in through the window.

That was unexpected and Rey didn't have a clue how it had happened. Then the door opened, and the answer walked in, carrying inside two large canisters of water. Luke had discarded the Jedi robes and wore a dark tunic and trousers with his lightsaber hanging from the broad leather belt.

"Oh, good morning." He nodded her way and set the water down. His face was carefully neutral as he observed her. Rey watched as he clasped his hands behind his back and looked at as if he was bracing himself to face a firing squad of Stormtroopers. He was unsure of where they stood, and it calmed Rey considerably. Her people skills weren't the best, and his were obviously rusty after all those years of exile.

"Hello, Luke," she chirped. It was going to be a good day, she thought.

He started slightly at her using his given name but then his eyes smiled – only for a moment, something sparked in those blue depths and twinkled at her before the ever-present cloud of grief returned.

"Are you hungry?" he said next and busied himself rummaging through the hut, looking for cooking utilities. "Of course you are – well. You are lucky because I am the only one in the entire galaxy who can make an Ahch-To algae salad."

"Algae?"

"Seaweed. It's very healthy."

There was a beat of silence and Luke glanced at her. Seeing her puzzled expression, he added, "Fish for dinner, don't worry. I know I don't make the best first impressions, but I am not _that_ mean."

"I'll eat whatever you set in front of me." Rey hopped from the cot and folded the blanket, putting his cloak carefully on top of it. "Who knows? Maybe I'll like Ahch-To seaweed."

"I am rather concerned by the level of trust you put in me, Rey."

The playfulness of the previous exchange disappeared and when Rey turned to look at Luke. He stood stock still, face serious, holding two wooden bowls tightly in his grasp, his knuckles white. His eyes searched Rey's face as he asked, "Why?"

He was unable to comprehend it, and Rey wondered what would it take to make him see himself through her eyes. There was no doubt that he had made mistakes and that he was far from the Jedi ideal everyone thought him to be but Rey hated to think about how he viewed himself – just the fact that he believed he had to live apart from everybody was alarming. Then there were the moments when he had gone swimming, or rock climbing to better see the stars. Looking back to those memories, Rey's heart broke all over again. How he could not see?

He wouldn't believe her if she told him how she thought of him. Human, fractured, honest, compassionate, and caring – but most of all, brave for living another, and another, and another day, struggling under the burned which was not only his to carry.

"You were always kind to me. If not you, who else?" Rey said casually and went closer to him. The urge to shake him until he would see sense was strong. Rey opted for putting her arms around his shoulders in a cautious, open hug. She stepped away quickly before Luke could even take a surprised breath.

"Now, you promised me a salad. I can't wait to taste it." Seeing the frown on his face, she added, "After breakfast, we can talk some more."

* * *

AN:

Dear **Red** , thank you so much for your comment and your kind words! I have some ideas where to take these two poor Force users. Some bits and pieces from Episode VIII might make an appearance, but this story won't be canon-compliant.

Hope you all had fun reading it and see you in the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

Rey liked Ahch-To seaweed salad even if it wasn't much more than a clump of brownish-green grass Luke had fished out of the ocean. It tasted a little salty and prickled when she bit into it; after she had finished eating, Rey couldn't get the feeling off her tongue. Still, it was fresh food, and that was a luxury, so she wasn't going to complain. So far, Rey always liked the food she tried. Everything tasted better than the portions from Plutt's miserable stockpile.

They had been silent through the meal ad they were sitting in the same uncomfortable silence for several minutes now. Rey watched the light of the twin suns struggle through the newly formed thick barrier of clouds above them while Luke stared at the empty bowl in his hands, completely lost in his own thoughts.

"I don't actually know what to say," she sighed. Her words seemed to startle Luke, and he turned to her quickly. It took him a second to realize he had a company who wasn't a figment of his imagination.

"I'm sorry." He blinked as he tried to shake off whatever dark thoughts were plaguing him. "You were saying?"

He wasn't making it any easier for her, was he? How was she supposed to tell why she had come? How could she even think about asking him to return to the Resistance? Rey just looked at him with wide eyes, her face reflecting the uncertainty.

"It's alright, Rey," said Luke and his expression softened. It wasn't quite a smile, but it was enough to ease her nervousness. "You can tell me."

"It's about why I am here." Rey met his gaze hesitatingly and suppressed the impulse to jump up and pace around.

"Okay." Luke nodded and set the bowl aside, giving her his full attention. The tension in him was apparent; he sat straighter and braced himself for what was to come. She could see the walls coming up. "Go on, fire at will."

"I never thought I would find you here – I didn't know who you were," Rey started cautiously. She really didn't wish to ruin their morning. She didn't want to bring back painful memories. Yesterday, she had forgotten about all the reasons she had searched for Master Skywalker and focused only on her friend Luke. Rey knew she couldn't do it any longer. There was a war, and people were dying, and she had her duty. She owned it to Poe and Finn and all the fighters who risked their lives every minute of every day.

And yet, Rey wanted to focus on Luke first. Had anyone ever done that for him? Put his wellbeing first before duty and destiny? Probably not. Luke himself wouldn't have allowed that. She could only imagine that he would do what was right no matter the personal cost. Well, Rey had a problem with that – she could never ask Luke to suffer more for the greater good. Not him, after what she had seen. It could very well cost him his sanity and life, and she wasn't prepared for that.

"I know." Seeing the conflict clearly written all over Rey's face, Luke gathered his resolve, took a deep breath and reached for her hand. "You were looking for Skywalker the Jedi. That means someone found the map and sent you. There are only two reasons why would anyone tried to find me – either kill the last living Jedi and end eons-long tradition, plunging the galaxy into Darkness for the next millennium… or to convince me to rejoin the fight. Seeing that I'm not dead, I can only assume it was my sister who sent you. Am I right?"

Rey fought the urge to cover her face as the blush blossomed on her cheeks. Of course, he could connect the dots quite fine. He had left the map for them to find after all.

"Yes."

Luke sandwiched her hand between his palms, the metal of his artificial limb cool against Rey's skin. After a moment, he patted her hand. "So go on, ask me."

It was the resigned tone that sealed Rey's decision. He sounded like he was planning to come back, like he didn't have a choice in the matter – and perhaps he didn't. She could relate – how any good person could sit idly by while the evil of the First Order spread across the stars, consuming one free world after another? She understood him but…

Luke had exiled himself for a reason. Rey didn't know why, only suspected, but she knew for certain that he wasn't even remotely prepared to return to the ugly realities of war, to confront his demons in the places where they had been born. She wouldn't let him do that to himself.

"No." Rey was unhappy how her voice sounded and sniffed a little, shaking her head vehemently.

"Excuse me?"

When she looked at him, Luke's expression was stunned.

"I won't," she said with more conviction. "You're right. I was looking for Luke Skywalker to convince him to return to the Resistance with us but as I said, I've found you."

"Quite a disappointment I turned out to be."

"Of course not!" Rey gasped out, both angry and shocked at his matter-of-factly assessment of himself.

"No?" he smiled grimly, his eyes darkening to the color of the cloudy sky. "Let's look at the great Luke Skywalker, the hero of the New Republic, Grandmaster of the New Jedi order – oh, yes, wait. There's no New Jedi Order, no New Republic because he allowed them to be destroyed while he did nothing, too weak to act in time and too pathetic to stay and fight."

Rey felt the tears sting her eyes and quickly stood up. She wasn't sure why she was crying, that was such a useless thing to do, but she could not help it. The emotions just bubbled inside of her and pushed the tears out. Part of it was anger at the unfairness of it all, at him for thinking that and at her for not being there sooner.

"Stop it!" she shouted and took a few steps away from him. "That's just wrong, and I won't listen to you degrading yourself like that!"

"Well, it's true."

Rey clenched her jaws and suppressed the urge to hit him over his head with the nearest blunt object. Maybe then he would see more sense, stupid, stubborn man… and then she gaped.

A porg smashed to the side of Luke's head and sent him tumbling from the rock on which he had been sitting. She didn't know if these creatures were able to fly or not, but the reason why that particular animal did that became apparent in the next moment.

"AAAARGH!"

"Chewie!" Rey had completely forgotten about him. She went to help Luke from the ground, all the while watching the massive Wookiee as he stomped toward them. By the look of it, he had spent most of the morning trying to find them and was not amused.

The poor porg gave them all a wounded look and hopped away.

"Chewie," said Luke calmly and rubbed his head, sitting on the grass. "I understand you are angry at me but please, do not use the native fauna as weapons."

"I'm so sorry I forgot to message you, really!" Rey offered her hand to Luke and heaved him to his feet. Without much thinking about it, she brushed aside the hair on his temple and probed at the small scratch there. "Looks like porg's beak is sharper than it looks."

Luke cleared his throat and stepped away with a quick, "Ah, yes, thank you, Rey, I'm fi-"

Only to be promptly sent flying back to the ground when a furry fist connected with his chin.

"Chewbacca!" Rey shouted and jumped between them. "What are you doing? Stop it, damn it! Has everyone lost their mind?!"

"AAARGH!" He just shrugged.

"No, I won't get out of your way so you can pummel him a bit more." She put her palm on Chewie's chest in an attempt to calm him down. "Nothing that happened is his fault!"

"That's alright, Rey," Luke spoke from somewhere behind her, and by the sound of it, he managed to get to his feet again. "Please, step back so we can-"

"AAAAAARRRRGH! AARGH!"

Everything stilled. Chewie stopped trying to come around Rey. She felt numbness spread through her body, from somewhere deep in her chest to the very tips of her fingers as her hand fell down and she blinked a new wave of tears away. Luke gasped, and she heard a thump as he went down when his knees gave in.

"Han? No, that's… Han's dead? Ho-how?"

Rey didn't want to face him at that moment. She didn't need to feel his emotions, the pain and disbelief, and grief; they bled from his voice and went straight through her heart. She turned anyway as Chewie stepped around her and knelt next to Luke, enveloping him in a massive hug as he sorrowfully keened.

Even as the air was being squeezed out of him, Luke's eyes were trained on Rey, silently pleading her to say it was not true. She couldn't hold his gaze and quickly averted her face, staring at the horizon where the ocean touched the sky.

A flash of red, a strangled cry. The fall, the long fall from the bridge… She shuddered.

"Kylo Ren." The name was ripped from her lips and wind carried it away, over the water, but she knew Luke had heard her. From the corner of her eye, she saw him struggling to stand and pushing Chewie away. Then he sprang to his feet. He fought for breath for a moment, looking wild and on the verge of another breakdown, staring straight at her as if she had been personally responsible for Han's death. Then he took off.

"Aaargh?"

"No, we're not going after him now." Rey watched Luke as he ran down the path until he disappeared from her sight, tears gently flowing down her cheeks. He probably needed time and solitude. That's what he was used to, that's how he dealt with pain.

Chewie flung his arm around her shoulder and brought her to his side as he also turned to watch the horizon. They stood there for a few long moments. Above them, the wind dispersed the clouds, and the mid-morning sunlight warmed the air. Inside, Rey felt nothing but ice.

Rey runs. She can't breathe, her lungs are on fire, and her heartbeat thrums in her ears. If she stops, she's dead. She can hear him behind her, the stumping of heavy boots, the angry hiss of a terrifying red blade.

"Scavenger!" A voice distorted by a mask shouts. "Stop running, stop hiding! It's pointless! Do you hear me? Stop!"

She hears him, the monster with a pretty face and a black heart. Will he hunt her forever?

"You need a teacher!"

They're back on the Starkiller. Rey runs in the knee-deep snow, dead trees line the path. She's so afraid. He will catch her. He will pry Luke's location from her, leaving her mind a shattered mess.

She cries out when she loses her footing. There's ice under the snow. Rey falls.

Ren is close. When he sees her on the ground, he slows to a walk. "My, my, it seems I have caught you."

"Not yet!" Rey springs up at the same time he raises his hand. The Force hold suspends her mid-jump.

He returns the saber back to his belt and then carefully removes his helmet and carries it under his arm as he approaches her. There's a lazy smile on his face, his dark eyes hungrily trained on her.

He will break her. She feels it; his wants send ripples through the Force. He will stop at nothing until she is an obedient puppet. Until her only purpose in life is to serve the Supreme Leader.

"I will show you the power of Darkness, and you will _love_ it."

"Never!" she screams so loudly her voice breaks.

"Oh yes. I will have you kill that traitor – and the pilot. I will have you destroy the Resistance… and you will do it gladly."

Only a hoarse whisper comes out next. "Never."

"You will submit," Ren smirks as he comes to stand in front of Rey, reaching for his weapon. "Or you will die."

She can't do anything, she's helpless as she watches him bring the red monstrosity high above his head. The lightsaber goes down slowly, so very slowly… and collides with a blazing green blade.

"It's only a bad dream, Rey," Luke says as he puts his left arm around her to steady her. He extinguishes his lightsaber in a heartbeat, turning his back to the quickly dispersing apparition of Kylo Ren, blocking her from the dark-clad figure. Rey's vision is filled with the blue of his kind eyes, and the world crashes down around her.

He swiftly catches her in his arms when the nightmare ends and her knees buckle, bringing her to his chest as sobs wrack Rey's body. Their mingled relief that it was only a nightmare is palpable, but her distress and fear don't dissipate and steal her of any rational thought.

Gently, he lowers them to the ground while the snow melts away. She cries as she hasn't cried in years, face buried in the dark fabric of Luke's tunic, fingers curling in the hem of his cloak. Rey turns her head slightly so she can listen to the steady beat of his heart and breathes in the smell of rain, leather and something light and sweet. His right hand is pressed against Rey's back, holding her close to him, while the fingers of his left hand skim the skin of Rey's neck lightly and then draw a small comforting circle between her shoulder blades.

She feels something hot fall on her cheek, but Luke is otherwise silent.

Time slows around them, and Rey has no idea how long it takes until she can't cry anymore. Long moments after her breathing is calm and all of her tears has already soaked Luke's tunic, he holds her, drawing strange little patterns on her back.

"What has he done to you, Rey?" Luke asks in a gravelly voice eventually. The sadness in it makes her shift. Luke immediately stiffens and starts retracting his arms, but Rey doesn't pull away; she just wraps hers around his waist with a sigh and waits until he relaxes again.

She thinks she is like a needy child but knows the gesture offers him as much comfort as it provides to her. He is shaken by what he saw in her dream, and Rey can only guess how he spent the afternoon and how he dealt with the news of Han's death.

She holds onto him tightly when she whispers, "Should I start at the beginning?"

"That is the usual place but start wherever you like."

"It was all about your map, Luke," she says slowly. "A BB unit with a part of it crashed into my life, and since then, I've never stopped running."

"Oh, Rey, I'm so-"

"I'm not." Rey moves a little, quite displeased when Luke's hold around her shoulders loosens yet again. She shifts a bit more and wiggles under his arm, catching his hand in hers. Her head rests on his chest, and Rey then pushes them both to lie on the grass so she can look at the stars. They have watched them multiple times during the years, sometimes on Jakku outside of Rey's AT-AT, sometimes on cliffs on the island.

He huffs but clasps her hand more firmly, putting his right arm behind his head. Being close is easier through the Force dream; the barriers between them are almost nonexistent and ignored. They watch the night sky as they used to and Rey can feel a wave of contentment sweep over them, but there's an undercurrent of curiosity disturbing the fragile peace.

"You were telling me how you're not sorry that I have ruined your life with my map," he says after a few more minutes.

Rey wants to punch him but is too comfortable to move, so she braves this battle with all she has instead. Perhaps she will never have another opportunity to speak with Luke so freely.

"You know I didn't have a good life. I was alone, hungry most of the time, and I feared for my life quite often. Death on Jakku is an everyday occurrence, just one wrong move during scavenging, or you get sick, or you just don't have enough water, and it's over. The only difference now is that I know what I fear the most. It's terrifying, more than I can express, but it makes me braver. I have someone to fight for. When BB appeared, I've started to live. How can I regret it if the map led me to the Resistance where I made friends for the first time in my life? It started me on a path I know I have always been meant to walk. The first steps led me to Finn, Han, and Chewie, to the lightsaber, to the Resistance and now to you. I have always been meant to meet you, Luke."

"I don't believe the Force could be so cruel as to fling you in my path of destruction," Luke chokes out. Rey raises her head to look at him, but he has his eyes tightly shut, face bearing an expression of acute pain. His disbelief and self-loathing seeps through their connection, and Rey struggles to free herself from their poisonous hold.

"I have always been meant to meet him, too," she forces out. The negative emotions abate, and she feels Luke's shock.

"For comparison between the Dark and Light Side, I think. He offered to teach me the ways of the Force," Rey says and is immediately flooded with Luke's horror. He looks at her and something in him is breaking, but it's not the usual pain she knows so well.

"I refused," Rey says softly, and Luke inhales sharply and holds his breath. She just wills him to understand and puts her hand on the spot where her head rested only moments ago, over his beating heart. "I had already found my teacher in someone else, a good man."

"I can't teach you what my nephew offered, Rey." Luke's voice is strangled, and with every word, the strange new kind of pain grows, mixed with disappointment and a dash of anger that morphs quickly into contempt directed – at him. He blinks and sits abruptly when he senses her confusion.

"Why not?"

"I can't access the Force." Luke shields his eyes with the good hand and turns his back to her. "When the Temple burnt, I cut myself from the Force in fear that… that I would… I was so angry that it was safer. I still am. Having access to my abilities would make me dangerous."

Rey lets wave after wave of heartache wash over her and swallows their tears. She can't see his face but knows Luke tries his best to push them back. She watches the line of his shoulders, the angle at which he bows his head and _sees_ him.

"Look at me." She crawls on her knees in front of him and forces him to face her, putting both of her hands on his shoulders. "I'm going to tell you something. Are you listening to me?"

He is stunned, backed into a corner. His eyes are begging to stay silent, not to torment him anymore. Rey can't do that. He needs to understand.

"Luke Skywalker," she says with conviction. "You are the bravest, strongest man I know and you are a good person. You have done great things, but you know what? You are just a man, and you are allowed to make mistakes and you are damned well allowed to live in peace. That's what you deserve. That's what I want for you. The Resistance existed without the Jedi before and will continue to do so for as long as it will be needed. The galaxy will find a new hero. It doesn't have to be you. Do you understand? You have paid your dues. I'm not here to drag you back or because I want you to teach me. That's not why the Force brought us together."

"Why do you think we're connected, then?" Bright blue eyes brimming with tears are staring at Rey in wonder. The feeling of tentative _hope_ emanating from him almost breaks her. How the universe has failed him. Is this how the galaxy treats its heroes? No more.

"So we are not alone." They're not, of course, not in the physical sense. They both have their friends and family, but none of them can understand what it means to be a Force-sensitive; how the power within moves and shifts and grows, and how scary it is. Rey understands. Perhaps when there was the old Jedi Order, things were different, but now? They are the last Light users left.

Then Luke bends his head, and Rey guides him closer. This time, it is her who offers comfort as great sobs shake his body, his face resting in the crook of Rey's neck and her arms wound around his shoulders and back, shielding him against all the Darkness in the galaxy.

The warmth of their feeling washes over them, endless, powerful, and deep like an ocean. Rey closes her eyes, floating with the emotion, and smiles into the night.


	4. Chapter 4

Luke appeared the next day quite late in the afternoon. Rey and Chewie had been preparing the Falcon for the Wookiee's return to the Resistance, which mostly consisted of getting rid of the porgs that had found their way in and repairing the small damages their attempts to nestle onboard had caused.

She saw him first as he stopped at the top of the steps leading to their improvised airstrip. Her eyes quickly skimmed over him – even from the distance between them she could see he looked awful but was unharmed. Upon making sure nothing bad had happened to Luke, Rey smiled brightly, her whole face lighting up. She had been worried and waved with as much enthusiasm as the animals she was carrying allowed. The armful of porgs squealed with delight at the motion. "Hey, Luke! Come help us!"

He raised his hand and returned the gesture with more moderation, making his way down.

"Hello, Rey. Hello, Chewie. What exactly are you trying to do?" There were deep shadows of exhaustion under his red-rimmed eyes, and the lines in his face appeared deeper as if someone had carved them with a blunt knife last night.

"Aaarghh, aaargh."

"Oh, I see." Luke nodded. His eyes darted between the two of them before settling on Rey, something unrecognizable flashing in them. He took a breath before asking, "When are you leaving?"

Rey frowned at the detached tone and thrust the porgs at him. "Chewie has to get back to the base as soon as he can. Now, I need to see to the hyperdrive. I think one of these little fellows somehow managed to squeeze in."

He was doing it again, of course; the look in his eyes, the tone of his voice. He heard the ship was going back to the base and assumed that Rey was going with it. Of course, he expected to be tossed aside at the first opportunity. She didn't have the patience to deal with that right now – not after spending the better part of her waking hours worrying about him. Rey needed a moment to herself otherwise she _would_ punch him this time.

She stomped all the way to the hyperdrive, grabbed the nearest tool – whatever it was – and busied herself with it. The space under the deck didn't offer much room for movement, and she was too agitated to actually do something useful.

"Could you stop hitting it?" Luke asked after several seconds, and Rey looked up at him. He stood in the doorway, looking baffled and a little wary.

"I'm not hitting it, I'm trying to get the stupid ball of feathers out!"

"What have I done or said to upset you?" Luke inched closer and knelt at the edge of the hyperdrive. His eyes were worried.

"Stop, just stop."

"I'm sorry-"

"Will you just stop with that?!" Rey screamed and then buried her face in her hands in total embarrassment as Luke fell silent. She wasn't like this, she knew that. Perhaps the emotions they were sending back and forth through the Force dreams were making her act this way. She certainly didn't want to scream at him – Force, it was the last thing she wanted to do!

"Stop thinking everything is your fault. It's not, and I can't stand you always think that."

"Alright." The answer was delivered in a calm tone. When she peeked from between her fingers at him, Luke was serious, thoughtful.

"You do not disagree with me." Rey blinked at him, stunned.

"I don't." His face remained solemn, but the expression in his eyes softened. "I don't want to upset you, Rey. I hope you know that. That means I'll try to… adjust. But I said something to make you angry, so tell me what it was."

"It wasn't anything you said…"

"Rey, tell me."

"I just knew from one look at you what immediately went through your head. You thought I was going to hop on the ship and simply leave."

"I shouldn't be surprised you know me so well."

"You should know me _better_."

They stared at each other, Rey's cheeks burning with all the blood that was pumping in her veins agitatedly. Luke seemed to be unruffled by their discussion, but she wasn't fooled. This wasn't any easier for him. Talking feelings outside of the Force connection felt different.

"It is a logical assumption," he sighed. "I'm not getting slow in my old age, you know. When you were talking about the Resistance finding a new hero, I felt they had already found them in you."

Rey gaped at him. That wasn't what she had meant, she wasn't anybody's hero. Or was she? When the power within her had awakened, she had been scared. She had needed someone to show her Rey's place in all of this… and here Luke was, telling Rey about how she fitted in the grander scheme of things and perhaps he was right. She was more inclined to listen to him than to Kylo Ren.

"How could I ever stand in your way, Rey?" Luke smiled, a painful thing to behold, and his left hand slowly rose, hovering close to her face. When his fingers gently brushed over her cheek, Rey had to suppress a shiver. They were warm and roughened, but the feeling was pleasant. "How could I be so selfish as to try to keep you from your destiny?"

"My destiny's led me to you." Rey's answer was finite. She was not going to change her mind, not going to leave just because he thought she was better off somewhere else. She wasn't.

"Good." Luke chuckled, the sound resonating from deep within, and shook his head.

"Good? You agree with me again."

"It appears so, doesn't it? Now, budge up."

Rey did as much as the limited room allowed while Luke lowered himself next to her, squeezing into the small service space of the hyperdrive without much difficulty. Neither of them was a particularly large person, and the physical closeness wasn't as strange as Rey would have expected.

He smiled, turned and gently tapped the cooling unit with his good hand as Rey stared at him in wonder. He must have felt her eyes on him, before he whispered, "I spent the day thinking, you know. About everything."

"Okay." Rey leaned closer so she could hear him better. His voice was soft, and he glanced at her with bright eyes, his fingers still tapping on the unit. A muffled keening sounded from the inside.

"You have a great destiny awaiting you, Rey, even without the access to the Force I can see it. You will do things I wouldn't even dream of… and you deserve so much better in life than what you've got so far. I grew up cared for and loved. Damn it, my father grew up cherished and surrounded by people who believed in him. The fact that you stand before me, so pure and light and good… You _inspire_ me." Luke swallowed and exhaled loudly, determinedly staring straight ahead. "The least you deserve is a Master who could accompany you on your path, to guide and protect you. I don't know if I can ever be a Master to a Padawan again, probably not, but… I will walk with you through fire and flames if that's your wish. I will not let you face your destiny unprepared and by yourself."

When Luke finished, he avoided looking at her and opened the unit. A shivering porg hopped into his outstretched palm and huddled into the sleeve of his robe. Glancing up at Rey, he said with a shy smile, "Here we are."

Rey felt as if she couldn't breathe, her heart was furiously pounding in her chest and tears threatened to spill from her eyes. She was well aware how monumental this moment was and how much it had taken from Luke to make the offer. Without any doubt, Rey knew where her place was in the universe – it was and always had been next to Luke, never Kylo Ren, never on Jakku. Everything had led her to him.

"Are… are you offering to come to the Resistance?" she asked in a small voice. She wasn't sure it was a good idea. No, she was certain it was _not_. She didn't want him to put her interests above his own wellbeing. Yet, the fact that he was willing to do so, for her, warmed Rey like a fluffy blanket wrapped around her shoulders when the temperatures dropped.

"Eventually." His eyes clouded, dark thoughts entering his mind. Seeing her expression, Luke tried to smile and gave her the shivering ball of feathers. "Take the poor animal for a moment, will you? I suppose that returning to the Resistance is inevitable. You are not the type to abandon friends and I possibly couldn't… But first, you need basic training – and I need time to adjust, as I've said. We can't do that on a bustling base in a middle of a war."

"Are you sure you want to be a part of that?" Rey couldn't believe he was still offering.

"Yes. I won't sit here on Ahch-To while you go off to save the galaxy. The connection goes both ways, Rey. I'm just asking for a little time for both of us to prepare." He pulled himself out of the hyperdrive quickly and then turned, kneeling. Rey offered the porg for him to take so she could follow, but Luke reached for her instead. His hands gripped Rey's waist gently, and he lifted her to the deck, setting her on her butt next to him.

"How does that sound?" he smiled and rubbed the porg on its head with his forefinger, raising his eyes to meet hers. The next moment, Luke was tackled to the floor and found himself with an armful of Rey who collided with him. "Oooph!"

The porg was safely kept out of harm's way in her palm as she hugged her friend with her free arm and whispered, "Sounds absolutely perfect. Perfect!"

"I'm glad you think so; took me the whole night and most of the day to come up with such a brilliant plan. But there's one problem." Luke lifted his head from the ground to look at her. He seemed almost content, and if he felt at least a half of what Rey felt, she supposed he was.

"Only one?"

"Only one." He paused. "With the winter coming soon, there won't be enough time to make one of the other huts livable. I don't even have the material needed, and I don't think you would like to brave the elements without a roof over your head."

Rey shuddered. On Jakku, winter had been a foreign concept. Days were hot and nights were freezing but here? She could not imagine Ahch-To's winter. "Does it snow here?"

"Yes. The winters are short, but we are in for 40 or 50 days of freezing temperatures and lots of snow."

"So, we'll have to share your hut?"

"I'm afraid so."

"That's not so bad."

"You say that now. I want to see you in a month's time." Luke's head fell back with a thunk. For a Jedi Grandmaster, he wasn't trying to act with much of dignity and Rey couldn't help it. She liked this side of him, the playfulness hidden in him.

After a few more moments, the two of them got up and returned outside. Chewie was waiting for them patiently with a large flock of porgs trying to get back onboard.

"Aaaarg, aargh?" He was happy to see them.

"All set," Rey said. "You are ready to go, I'll just have to grab some stuff from the storage and gather my things."

Both her friends offered to help. Chewie carried one of the cots from Falcon to the hut while Luke and Rey brought other supplies – warm blankets, clothes, the Resistance rations to sustain them if the need arose. When the sun was setting, Rey's cot was placed across the hut from Luke's, made up with blankets and pillows. The supplies were safely stored in Luke's hidden storage boxes in one of the caves above the settlement together with an encrypted long-distance comm that was able to reach General Organa.

They came to see the Wookiee off after everything was set.

"Arrgh. Aaaaargggh. Arghhh." Chewie hugged first Luke, and the man chuckled.

"Of course, I'll see you soon," he said, and then hesitated. "Tell my sister I will come when we are ready… and that I miss her, too."

"Arghhhh. Aaaargh." Rey came next, and she felt all the air leave her lungs when Chewie hugged her and lifted her in the air.

"Yes, yes! I'll keep an eye on him, and no, I promise not to get kidnapped again! Say hi to the guys and BB-8."

Then, without anything else that needed to be said, the Wookiee boarded the ship and a moment later the Millennium Falcon was just a speck against the starry sky.

Rey sighed and felt Luke shift his weight beside her. Without the light of the ship, the night seemed darker. He stepped closer and hesitated before he touched her arm softly. "Already missing your friends, aren't you?"

He was getting better at reading her. Rey nodded and wrapped her arms around herself. "Yes. It's strange – I've just met them but knowing how much distance is between us now and that I won't be seeing them for some time makes it harder."

"You will see them in time." Luke put his arm around Rey's back, and she let her head fall on his shoulder, soaking it the comfort offered. It put a smile on her face, the knowledge that from now on, there will be someone she could lean on, someone who would always return for her as Finn had done, someone who understood the dangerous path in front of her and was willing to walk it alongside her. It made her almost giddy to realize that it genuinely went both ways. Rey was there for Luke, and he was there for her. No more nightmares and nameless fears.

"Come, the night is getting cold, and I remember promising you fish for dinner."

"That was yesterday."

"Better late than never." Luke winked at her, and they shared a knowing look. Rey let him lead the way back to the hut, still with that broad smile which almost split her face in two. After they mounted the steps, Luke took her hand in his, and they continued on their way side by side.

Touching others on Jakku had been a horrible idea, and Rey understood that between people it was a sign of familiarity and trust. You hugged your friends and family, held hands with children and perhaps lovers. They weren't lovers, of course – the intimacy they shared was somehow _more_ than any wedded couple could ever have. As always before, his left hand was pleasantly warm, the skin of his fingers roughed by hard work and Rey decided that it was fitting and she liked it quite a lot. It made him real and alive. She could get used to this level of closeness with him.

After dinner, they were both exhausted by the events of the last two days and went to sleep early. Luke had promised that her training would begin in the morning and despite how much she looked forward to it, Rey fell asleep almost immediately.

An hour later, she startled awake and sat up on her cot, blinking owlishly into the darkness of their home. She didn't know what had woken her, but at least it wasn't anything dangerous.

Rey looked around curiously and there, something tickled her awareness. It was coming from the direction of Luke's cot, and she gasped and put her hand in front of her mouth to stifle the sound.

She felt him. The feather-like sensation which brushed against her mind was Luke's presence. Muted, almost strangled with the tight ropes he had put around himself, but still there.

"Luke?" she whispered, but he didn't answer. His breathing remained deep and steady. He was asleep

Rey lay back down and closed her eyes, concentrating on the tiny trickle escaping Luke's iron control, inspecting the feeling. It was only a faint echo, a sliver of what his presence would have felt like in the Force, but Rey drifted off to sleep content as it mingled with her own, their connection humming with happiness.

Luke's presence was all things warm and safe and colorful.


	5. Chapter 5

Their days were always the same, seamlessly blending together. The only thing that reminded Rey of the passage of time was the weather – the twin suns were harder to spot through the barriers of clouds, and the temperatures were getting systematically lower and lower.

Luke had merely incorporated her into his usual routine with minimal adjustments, as he had told Rey. She didn't believe him, exactly, and had the suspicion that Luke was purposefully lenient with her.

In the mornings, they ran on the island's hidden paths and climbed the cliffs (when the winds abated). For the first two weeks, Rey had only watched Luke's back as he had been moving agilely several steps ahead of her, smirking over his shoulder.

"Come on, catch me!" he called one day and turned, running backward. His eyes were twinkling, and Rey couldn't even get annoyed with him. Luke's cheerfulness was such a rare sight.

"Don't flatter yourself, Skywalker! I'm going easy on you so you won't feel bad!" The truth was, Luke was in an excellent condition while Rey had never been used to running for periods of time and didn't have as much stamina as him. She was much faster than Luke on shorter tracks, though.

"You know, one of my Masters had this custom," he said, amused, and slowed so Rey could catch up with him. "He used to sit on his apprentices' backs and forced them to run around for hours. Perhaps I should revive that tradition…"

"That's a joke, isn't it?"

"No." Luke's face was serious, but then the corners of his mouth twitched. "He was only around 70 cm tall, and didn't weigh much."

Rey sometimes wondered if it really would be too disrespectful to the legendary Jedi to hit him over his head. The temptation was great, indeed.

He had also taught her how to catch fish and how to cook them, how to collect the seaweed for their salads and the green milk from the thala-sirens. Food-gathering kept them busy during the early afternoons, and they took turns because Luke knew she was somewhat wary of the large mammals. More often than not, it was him who interacted with the creatures. She even preferred water but drank the milk at his insistence that it was good for her health.

In late afternoons and early evenings they focused on Rey's fighting skills. Usually, they spared with wooden sticks, and it was embarrassing how many bruises Rey had amassed while she had never even touched Luke with the training sword.

"Your instincts serve you well," he said in a full master mode after almost a month. Rey had learned to recognize when her friend disappeared and the Jedi Master emerged. She doubted Luke realized it himself – the changes had crept upon them slowly over the weeks. He would stand straighter, clasp his hands behind his back or cross his arms over his chest, sometimes stroking his beard. His face would become inscrutable, eyes gaining a steely glint. His voice would deepen, allowing no room for backtalk.

In those moments, Rey felt immensely pleased and proud of him and was silent and attentive, absorbing everything he said like a sponge with every intention to learn what he was teaching her.

"Thank you."

"But not in this case," he said next and frowned. "We need to stop sparing for the time being. I wasn't able to pay you full attention, but I think I know where the problem is. Come, show me how you attack."

Luke stepped back and observed her. Rey felt a bit silly but did as he wished and lunged forward.

"Parry! Retreat! Feint! Attack! Attack! Feint!" His voice was loud and clear, and Rey executed his every order the same moment the first syllables left his lips.

"Oh, yes." Luke passed her a canister of water and relaxed, the Master disappearing and her friend returning. "You move like you were used to when you wielded your staff. That's keeping you back. You need to forget all of that because it will get you killed. We should have started with the footwork, and katas, installing new proper habits."

Rey's first reaction was indignation, but she suppressed it and thought for a moment over his words. He was right. She hadn't hit him even once, so there was a problem – the fact that she had managed to best Ren meant nothing. Rey had to prove that it hadn't been just sheer dumb luck.

"Alright."

"You are everything a Master could ask in a Padawan." Luke smiled at her and motioned for her to come with him, apparently pleased. He sat on his cloak on the edge of the old training platform the first Jedi used when they had inhabited the island.

"I couldn't ask for a better teacher." Rey flopped down next to him on the cloak and turned to watch the ocean. It was becoming her favorite sight, the stormy Ahch-To waters.

"The Jedi used seven lightsaber forms. They trained several of them diligently and switched between when the situation called for it, even though they each had their preferred form. There was even one suited for the use of a double-edged weapon – a saberstaff. Unfortunately, I learned only three of them fully. I had to develop my own fighting style combing the bits and pieces my Masters taught me because neither of the forms suited me and I couldn't afford spending years practicing something I wouldn't use fully. We will start with the original forms, so you know the basics, but then I want you to adopt that style. After the war is over, you are welcome to practice any form you wish."

"Does your style have a name? Can I call it the Skywalker battle form?" Rey grinned.

Luke gave her an exasperated look, but then shrugged, gazing over the water. The suns colored the skies in hues of gold and orange. "If that's what you want to call it."

"It is. How is your form different from the others?"

"I'm not a tall man, nor am I an exceptionally strong man but I have found that a bit of aggressiveness in a fight is necessary. The purely defensive form does not suit me and yet I can't utilize much of the forceful style either. Seeing how much we have in common, I can only guess that you share the same point of view?" Luke glanced at her with a small smile.

"I do."

"A lightsaber wielder who doesn't have physical advantages of height and strength has to be quick, agile and deadly in his attacks and precise in his defense. That's what I want to teach you."

"I'm always happy to learn." Rey made herself comfortable and leaned her side against his, intending to enjoy the beautiful view and bask in the satisfaction that she was getting somewhere in her training. They sat there for a few moments when Rey sat up straighter and frowned, observing their surroundings. There was nothing unusual in sight yet she felt uncomfortable as if a pair of eyes was trained on them.

"What is it?" Luke mirrored her actions, his hand straying to the lightsaber at his belt. "Have you heard something?"

Rey took a deep breath, trying to locate the source of her unease – and suddenly, the feeling was gone. It had been just a porg or another creature from the island – or maybe one of the Lanai. The native inhabitants of the Temple Island had steered clear of Rey for the first week and then she had gotten the feeling they didn't like her very much.

"It felt like someone was watching us."

"Let's head back." Luke rose to his feet, offering Rey his good hand. Without any hesitation, Rey clasped his palm, and he pulled her up. "I'm hungry, and you have yet to convince me why should I let you anywhere near my X-wing."

"Because I can upgrade it!"

"It's a 30 years old starfighter. The only thing you can do with that piece of junk is to scrap it."

"What? It's a historical relic, you can't just scrap that!" Rey jumped into their discussion with gusto and tried to ignore the way Luke looked around the whole way back with a worried glint in his eyes.

During their evenings after dinner, the story time came – if Rey didn't fall asleep, exhausted. They talked about the history of the Temple Island and the Jedi Order. Rey especially liked when Luke talked about his Masters and felt cheated by Fate that she would never meet them and that she was born into times of such Darkness and would never know how life had been for generations of the Jedi Knights during the time of the Old Republic. They argued about mechanics and star navigation and traded stories about life on desert planets. They never brushed the topics that needed so much discussing – Rey never talked about what had actually happened on the Starkiller and Luke did not mention his nephew or the New Jedi Order.

The nights were peaceful, even though Rey knew Luke usually went to sleep much later than her. Their physical closeness seemed to satisfy their Force connection, and they didn't have to share any more dreams, their sleep undisturbed by nightmares. Most of the nights, Luke's presence in the Force was tightly guarded, but sometimes, the same small tendril escaped. Rey constantly marveled at the gentle feel of it, at ease with the way it brushed against and connected with her own Force presence, making the bond hum.

They had good days filled with their routine, joking during the training and meal-times and then they had bad days. Rey had stopped thinking of their days separately – if Luke was feeling down, both of them had a bad day. During those, he disappeared to brood into one of the caves or on top of one of the cliffs. Once she had seen him sulking in the ruins of the Temple.

She left him to it for a few hours but around nightfall always came to find him. She would embrace him wordlessly and then sit with him until the cold forced them to return to the hut. He would grip her hand almost painfully on the way back and then whisper a soft, vulnerable, "Thank you."

It was also a learning experience for Rey, who had never _mattered_ to someone before. Suddenly, there was a person who was depending on her, and she tried so hard not to let Luke down. Rey was rewarded by little things in which Luke let her know how he appreciated her help, how he valued her. He would share his cloak, save the best parts of their fish for her, offer a smile while he passed her a canister with water, or wish her good night in that particular soft voice when she was on the brink of sleep… For the first time in her life, Rey felt like she was _precious_ to someone. As the time passed, the number of their bad days lessened, and the small spark of light in Luke's eyes which had been so rare had become present more often. Rey considered it her greatest achievement, so far.

She had quickly progressed from the basic footwork and was working on the katas from Form I with much more success than she had thought possible. Luke certainly seemed impressed. The occasions when he had to step in and correct her stance or hold on the weapon were sparse.

Rey loved kata training – not only because footwork was and always had been the most boring aspect of any martial art but because Luke trained with her. He had to show her each movement, and Rey copied him. They entered a fascinating dance without music, moving at the same speed with the same purpose framed with the light of the setting suns until night swallowed their figures and the glow of their sabers cut through the darkness with ease. The training was relaxing, they had to focus only on the perfection of each sweep of the lightsaber, precision of their blocks and steps. During the hours they dedicated to katas, Rey actually felt the Force stir within her, filling her with its power, connecting with her body in ways she hadn't even thought about.

Her favorite part of the kata training, however, was the time when she could simply observe her Master – for he was her Master during those hours. He sometimes left her to the Form I and moved through his own battle set with a deadly precision which he had acquired only through dedicated repetition. She could easily imagine him going through the form, again and again, day after day – for hours without pause driving himself to the point of utter exhaustion so he could fall easier asleep in the evenings. But now, Luke would become absorbed in practice, sometimes even closing his eyes, and in those fleeting moments, he appeared at peace with the whole galaxy.

Luke finished the battle form and straightened, opening his eyes and blinking at her when he found Rey staring at him. "Everything's alright, Rey?"

"Yes… It's just… There are snowflakes all around you." Rey answered with her cheeks only slightly pink. "I've seen snow but…"

That memory was not pleasant, and Rey didn't like snow purely from the association, but this was different. Perhaps because she had first seen snow on a dead planet with the threat of imminent death thrumming through her veins while now… Now she saw big fluffy snowflakes gently floating around her most favorite person in the universe.

Luke smiled warmly and put out his lightsaber, glancing around. "You have never seen it fall from the sky before, have you?"

"No."

"Let's enjoy it." He stepped next to her and put his arm around Rey's back, drawing her close to his side as he turned his face to the heavens. "The first time I saw it, I was awestruck. Then the snowfall turned into a blizzard, of course, so the spell was broken."

"It's beautiful."

Luke turned to look down at her and focused his gaze on the single snowflake which was about to land on the tip of Rey's nose. He grinned, the blue of his eyes twinkling like stars in the night. "It is."

The snowflake landed, and Rey sneezed and startled when she heard Luke's laugh. Not a chuckle or a cough masking his amusement but full-blown laughter coming from deep within him.

They watched the snowfall until it got dark. Rey had looped her arms around Luke's waist and managed to snuggle under his cloak as it got colder. When they arrived at the hut, the temperature was dropping considerably, and the winds were picking up with every passing second.

"I'm afraid we're in for a storm," Luke said. "I'm going to bring more firewood."

He was right. Rey heard the winds howling around the hut, and for the first time since coming to live on Ahch-To, she couldn't fall asleep. So she stared into the dark and wished for the weather to calm. Not to mention the cold. As the minutes went by, the temperature inside their home was getting lower and lower despite the flames in the fireplace. She stopped feeling her toes and fingers eventually. That was the moment when Rey's teeth chattered.

"Rey?" Luke's voice sounded from across the hut. "Are you cold?"

"A bit."

There was silence – well, neither of them spoke, but Rey still heard the winds, and her teeth still chattered. No matter how carefully she wrapped herself into both of her blankets, she was _still_ cold.

Grabbing his blanket, Luke shuffled over to her. Rey noticed that his hair was sticking out at funny angles and that his kind eyes, even when he appeared half-asleep, were so very blue. He smiled and leaned over her, tucking his blanket over Rey's form with care. "Try to fall asleep. I'll bring more blankets in the morning."

"What about you?" Rey sat up and caught his arm as Luke turned.

He patted her hand. "I'll be fine, don't worry about that."

Rey lay back down and watched him as he fed the flames and then returned to his cot, draping his cloak over his body.

That wouldn't do. It was freezing inside the hut; their breaths were leaving their mouths as puffs of vapor. A cloak wasn't enough to protect him from the cold. Rey hopped from her bed with all the blankets in her arms and quickly padded to the other side of the hut, sitting down on Luke's cot next to his legs.

"What precisely you think you're doing, Rey?"

"Making sure none of us is going to freeze to death. Move over." She didn't wait for him to budge, actually. Rey just threw all three blankets over them and lay down on her side with her back to him.

Luke was too stunned to react for a few moments, but then he just followed her example and shifted to his side, putting his arm around Rey. They both knew that the most efficient way to keep warm was to share body heat and she supposed he had been cold, too. He heaved a deep sigh, his breath tickling Rey's cheek. "Bring your pillow next time, this way you'll strain your neck."

"Okay," Rey mumbled, already falling asleep, surrounded by warmth and the familiar, comforting scents of rain, leather and something light and sweet.

They slept late and woken to a changed world; their routine had altered irrevocably. Luke didn't bring more blankets in the morning, and Rey moved the pillow from her cot to his sometime during the next week. When the snow melted away after fifty-two days of winter, that's where Rey's pillow still stayed.

* * *

AN: It seems that Rey/Luke ship isn't extremely popular around here, but I hope that you guys who come and read "Like an Ocean" enjoy this story all the same. Also, I'd like to invite you to read my song inspired pieces "Treat You Better," "Shape of You," and "Reminding Me" – fair warning, they all are modern AU focusing on a certain blond guy and a feisty firecracker.


	6. Interlude 1

Luke's Interlude 01

Luke woke first early in the morning, his awareness returning slowly. He could feel the heavy mass of snow outside, how it was pressing on the roof of their hut. He could feel the winds had calmed and the clouds cleared, and how stars were twinkling in the skies as the new day was being born. He felt gold brightness and warmth enveloping him, all soft and featherlike, touching his consciousness almost shyly, interweaving with a tiny stream of his own bright colors.

And he froze and breathed in the scent he had come to associate with Rey – earthly smell of a forest clearing on a summer day; wildflowers, strawberries, and pine trees.

His eyes opened, and he blinked into the semidarkness of their hut, becoming aware of the fact that he and Rey were not interwoven _only_ in the Force. She was using his right arm as her pillow, the whole of her back pressed tightly against his torso, their legs entangled, and he had his other arm wrapped around her, his left hand resting close to Rey's breast.

Luke started to blush and swallowed as he also realized that the position they were in had an interesting effect on a particular part of his anatomy. He held his breath as he slowly minimized the contact of his groin with Rey's backside, releasing it only after he had inched almost to the wall of the hut. Rey was a wonderful person, and Luke knew he wasn't worthy of her generosity, her unconditional loyalty, and friendship. He wasn't about to make her uncomfortable with a mere bodily function.

Then he focused on their Force bond and spent a long time simply marveling at the feel and sight of it. It had been years since he had allowed himself even the smallest contact with the Force in fear of what he would do with his powers back. He had been and still was absolutely terrified to open himself again to such a temptation – there was anger in him, a dangerous festering wound that had the potential to become something much darker, which could push him over the edge. Now, though, he felt only contentment, completeness he hadn't known in his entire life until this very moment. There was no negative emotions, no anger, no fear, just the pure pleasure of being whole, peace, and joy, and Luke smiled and closed his eyes, floating with the feeling.

When he felt Rey was close to waking, he pretended to be asleep. With a tear slowly sliding from the corner of his eye, Luke called the tiny tendril of his presence back into his body, sealing his powers again behind iron gates. When the last thread between them broke, he shuddered as he lost contact both with Rey and the Force.

He continued to lie there, bereft, and wondered how it would look and feel if he should open those gates fully; how Rey's golden light would mix with the bright colors of his Force presence, how radiant and blinding their bond would become. He realized with a start that he wanted to find out.

Perhaps with Rey close at his side, he wouldn't have to be afraid to allow the Force back into his body. She had balanced him, brought him a new purpose, a peace of mind and an unexpected chance at being the man he had been before Ben had fallen. With her bright gold Force presence filling him with hope, how could he ever think of anything but the Light?

He just needed time, he told himself.

* * *

AN: So, this is Luke's POV. What do you think, guys? Also, I had some troubles uploading this chapter for some reason and I'm sorry for the delay.


	7. Chapter 6

Rey was sitting cross-legged on a high rock, patiently observing her Master as he demonstrated Form IV in its entirety. Luke couldn't teach her Form II, which had been considered archaic and not practiced even at the time when the Jedi Order had fallen. Form III required a level of control over the Force which neither of them had at the moment, so the only way how to progress her training was Form IV.

She was trying not to let her jaw drop, but it was rather difficult. Rey knew that Luke adapted half of this particular set of katas for his own battle form, but he left out so much, and she could see why.

With a double backward somersault and a wide sweep of his blade, he finished the set and straightened, his power swirling around him in abundance. She could feel it, the familiar presence filling the space between them and reaching for her as their connection buzzed in excitement. It called to Rey and part of her was answering, reaching back. That was the first time she could feel Luke in the Force when he wasn't asleep, and Rey was speechless. His presence was so vibrant, multi-colored, and _amazing_.

Then Luke took a deep breath, and the tendrils of his Force presence and power slammed back into him, tightly guarded once more and Rey felt their absence like a physical slap in her face. She took the feeling and pushed it into the corner of her mind, focusing more on a different thing which made her heart beat like a drum.

"That's… I can't learn that! Ever!" she cried, letting her panic overcome her rational thoughts. "I can't move like that!"

Luke's forehead was covered in sweat, his breathing was hard, but he grinned as he walked closer to her with light steps. She didn't understand how he could even _stand_ after what she had just seen. Form IV was very forceful and acrobatic, very demanding – and all the handstands, climbing and running around the Island made much more sense.

"That's what everyone said and believe it or not, generations of Jedi Knights learned it without much difficulty."

"I'll break my neck."

"Rey…"

"No, honestly… What you did, it's… incredible… but I can tell you right now that no matter how hard I'll train, my body just won't be able to leap that high, or to flip so many times…" Rey had a hard time to sit still, but she was practicing patience, so she resisted the impulse to jump up.

Luke crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for her to snap out of her panic attack. Then he asked calmly, "What do you feel when you practice Form I?"

Rey tried to control her breathing and blushed, realizing that he might look serious, but his eyes were laughing merrily – at her silliness. "Well, I… feel the Force."

"Yes. What does it do?"

"It should be doing something?" Rey's voice rose slightly higher, and she felt the panic returning. After seeing what she just had, Rey felt inadequate, and no matter how loudly the rational part of her was telling her to listen to Luke and let him explain, she just kept panicking. "You never said it should be doing something to me!"

"Breathe with me." The corners of Luke's lips turned upwards, and he looked ready to burst out laughing, but remained calm and started to take deep breaths. Rey copied him, and after a minute, they were breathing together, in and out slowly.

"Form I has one primary purpose – to open you to the presence of the Force. Once that happens, it's always a part of you…"

Luke fell silent and turned around, his face becoming an expressionless mask, his eyes narrowing. Rey opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong when she felt it. Someone was watching them, and it sent shivers down her spine. It was the same feeling she had had several times during her training, but it was even stronger now.

They were _not_ _alone_ on the training platform.

Her hand strayed to her belt where the blue lightsaber was, and she saw from the corner of her eye as Luke did the same. Her previous panic was gone, and a quiet sense of resignation filled her. If they had been discovered, there was no point in panicking.

"Do you think it's the First Order?"

"I don't know. I… I can't feel who it is." Luke gave her a long look, his eyes shadowed by the old pain, the guilt, the shame at his own weaknesses which hadn't made an appearance in months. Rey hated it with passion as she tried to reach into the Force herself. They had been doing great, he was getting better; she _knew_ he was. She was going to hack their attackers to bits for destroying that.

"Peace, young Skywalker, trouble I am not." The squeaky old voice sounded from behind Rey, and she jumped from her rock and managed to execute a perfect flip and land next to Luke, facing the enemy with her weapon activated… Only to be greeted by laughter that sounded as if someone was grinding rocks together and the sight of a small blue transparent creature in what appeared to be Jedi robes.

At first, the place where the visitor stood appeared empty to her senses, but as she probed her surrounding in the Force again, she got a faint trace of… something; whiteness and lightness of snowfall.

"Young Kenobi, you like a fish out of sea look," it said with another chuckle. It held a short cane and knocked with it on the rock. "What a pair, you younglings are!"

"Master Yoda," Luke whispered and hearing his voice hurt. Rey focused her eyes on him immediately, the legendary Jedi Master forgotten. She deactivated her lightsaber and stepped closer to Luke, not quite touching him, but enough for her to feel the heat of his body.

Luke had tears in his eyes, and his expression was like a mirror which had been shattered. "I thought I would never see you again…"

Rey caught him before he could fall and slowed their descent to the ground, not caring about the audience they had. She grabbed his good hand, and her other arm went around Luke's shoulders as he kept staring at Yoda.

She followed his eyes and glared at the apparition. "From what I heard, you should be dead."

"Spunky, much defiance I sense in you."

That didn't help in the slightest, and Rey's frown deepened to a fierce scowl. "I don't think we've met and only because Luke recognized you, I am not trying my best to slice you up, see-through or not."

"Oho, ho, ho!" Yoda tilted his head back and laughed and laughed. "Looks like the Force this time around right champion chose. You a good one are!"

"What are you talking about?"

"No one usually knows that," Luke answered and gripped her hand back like it was a lifeline. Perhaps it was. He remained kneeling, swallowing hard and blinking the tears back. "Master Yoda, please, forgive her. I didn't get around to explaining some things…"

"You much explaining did not do at all." Yoda floated down from the rock and walked to them. "The Dark Side clouded much, but your heart now lighter needs to be. For the fight, needed you still are."

"I know, and I am trying, Master…"

"How many times I say it must? Do or do not, there is no try."

So this was some sort of a ghost? While Rey was quickly putting two and two together, she did not appreciate the way Yoda was talking to Luke. He might have been the wisest Jedi Master in the recent history, a legend, but he was also dead, and he had died in exile after one of his students had turned on the Jedi and killed all the others. Yoda was the last to have the right to appear from the afterlife and preach about how they were doing in the recent fight against the Dark Side. From what Rey had understood, not that Luke had said a word against his teacher, Yoda had made peace with himself only close to his demise. He had no right to come and kick a man who was trying to get to his feet.

"Master Yoda, with all due respect, what are you doing here?"

"Respect much you for me do not have," he said and squinted at her. "Respect for your teacher you need. How you want to learn if you do not?"

Luke took in a sharp breath and glanced at Rey. His grip on Rey's hand hurt. "You are here to teach Rey?"

"In the ways of the Force, someone instructs her must."

Rey's jaw actually felt like it hit the floor and she spluttered. "I have a teacher! Why is everyone suddenly offering me that now, when I don't need it?"

"Young Skywalker the ways of the lightsaber teaches you, but enough is it? No. Form I you mastered. Form III you need to learn. Form IV my favorite is but for you, not practical. Form II well will serve you against the Dark Side." Yoda hit the ground with his cane every time he mentioned one of the Forms, and then he knocked his old student over the head. "Here, the problem is. Overcome your fear, guilt, and anger you must! Young Kenobi must learn and a teacher in tune with the Force that needs!"

Seeing Yoda was too much for Luke, Rey thought a moment before her fear was realized. They hadn't had enough _time_ to deal with all that.

"I'm sorry I failed you, Master Yoda…" Luke's voice broke, and he bowed his head, staring at Yoda's feet. "I'm what is left of the Order, and now I fear… that… the legacy will die with me. I can't do it… I can't be the teacher Rey deserves… I failed you both."

"No!" Rey shouted and tugged at his hand, but Luke refused to look at her. Before she could voice what exactly she thought about that load of thala-siren manure, Yoda hit Luke over the head again, harder.

"Kenobi right is. Listen, young Skywalker." He put the handle of his cane under Luke's chin and used it to lift his head slowly. Then he patted him on the cheek in an uncharacteristically gentle gesture. "You good did. Listening you are? You good did. Us, we did not. Many mistakes the old Jedi did, blind we were. No more. You and young Kenobi here, you the future of the Jedi are. Make it strong and do better than we."

Rey was speechless as she observed the interaction between the old Jedi Master and her friend. Her heart broke at the raw emotions in the voice of the small creature, and she felt ashamed of her harsh judgment. Yoda had been where Luke was now, and the ancient Jedi hadn't had anyone to hold his hand, he had been alone, waiting on a desolate planet with only a sliver of hope to come. Thirty years later, all Yoda's hopes were dashed, the Light almost diminished, and he had apparently observed it all.

"In you both we trust. Even in the deepest Darkness a spark of Light spring can; forget that not. Now, you have to trust in you, too."

Rey slid closer and hugged Luke to keep him together with the sheer power of her will and affection. His shoulders were shaking, but he was trying to keep his composure.

"I still don't understand why exactly you appeared and why now. We've been on Ahch-To for some time." What Rey was actually asking was why Yoda hadn't come before. Luke needed to hear those words from his Master's mouth so badly, she could tell.

"To teach both of you, I came," he answered as if it should be obvious. "Young Skywalker never his training finished, and now when in contact with the Force he is again, it is possible to meet for us. When the Force he refused, he our contact severed. Only a small tendril when he not aware was, reach _you_ could. Only you help him open to the Force could. Now, we work finally can. The last living Jedi you two may be but the only Jedi you are not."

Luke, who seemed utterly unsurprised by this, turned his head towards her, gazing at her with wide blue eyes and Rey swallowed at the swirling chaos of emotions in them. He hadn't looked at her like that before; as if she was the center of the universe, the answer to all the questions of life, his personal savior.

Yoda was basically saying that when Luke had cut himself from the Force, he had cut himself from Yoda's reach, from the help he could have had. Until recently, the only times when he had been in a small contact with the Force had been the moments when he had been asleep and hadn't been able to keep his powers in check. The Force bond, their sharing of dreams, had been possible only in those times. Until she had come to Ahch-To and Luke had started to train her, until this very afternoon when he had let out his power for the first time as he had been demonstrating Form IV.

"Beginning to understand, you do. Good, good. Awareness, important is!"

Yoda left them be and wandered a few steps away from them, poking his head into Rey's backpack in which they had brought their water canister and dried fish for a snack.

"Oh, Force, Rey…" Luke closed his eyes. Releasing her hand, he brought her to his chest and started crying silently. Rey hugged him tighter, wrapping both arms around him, and tried to lend him all of her strength. She focused on her breathing and her own heartbeat, tried to keep both calm and steady. Soon, they shared the same breath, her exhale was his inhale and vice versa.

"I have no words, Rey, I… can't…" he stammered when he calmed enough to speak. "To think that you are burdened with that, with my demons… that the purpose of your being here is to make a blind fool _see_ …"

"That young Kenobi's purpose is not. Restoring Balance to the Force and keeping it her purpose is." Yoda corrected matter-of-factly. "You Skywalkers never see what in front of you is, eyes turned up and up, while what important on the ground is."

"What?" She wasn't sure who asked first, or louder, but both Rey and Luke turned to stare at the Jedi Master with shock. He chuckled and said, "Obi-Wan brighter was at your age. You too much time with the Skywalkers spend, young one. Bright much, you are not, eh?"

Cackling madly, he vanished from their sight.

Rey stared at the space where Yoda had been for a full minute before she turned to look at her friend. Luke had been watching her the whole time with a thoughtful frown on his face. Then his red-rimmed eyes smiled at her, his expression softening.

"Kenobi, how could I miss that?" he said and traced the line of her jaw with the fingers of his left hand before placing his palm against her cheek. "You even speak like Master Obi-Wan."

Rey shivered and closed her eyes. All of her attention had been focused on Luke and his pain, and she hadn't spared even one single thought to the fact that Yoda had called her a Kenobi, that he had said she was the _Chosen One_. Then her eyes filled with tears as the realization of Yoda's words hit her full force.

She had a name. Rey wasn't a nameless orphan any longer, a desert rat left all alone in the universe, a scavenger without a purpose, a life. Rey had a name, a legacy, friends and family and a destiny to fulfill – and what a destiny that was! She turned from a worthless, nameless no one into the person the fate of the whole galaxy depended upon.

"That's… Oh, Luke, that's unbelievable!" Rey buried her face between Luke's shoulder and neck and cried and then laughed and cried again. She was _Rey Kenobi,_ and according to the spirit of a legendary Jedi Master, she was destined to bring Balance to the Force – and _keep_ it this time. Rey wasn't sure which of those two things sounded more far-fetched; that she was a descendant of a Jedi Master long dead or that the Force itself had created her to be its tool? One option should contradict the other, shouldn't it? Yet Rey felt at least part of it was true – these last months had been slowly preparing her for that role. Before coming to Ahch-To, Rey might have been scared, terrified – but now?

"I think it makes perfect sense," he whispered and held her tighter, laughing and crying with her. "Although I don't know the exact mechanics of the _how_ , I don't doubt it even for a moment, Rey – just look at us, how you saved me. The only thing I am worried about is that…"

As he fell silent, Rey managed to pull herself together and leaned back to see his face. She didn't like his expression at all. Luke's eyes darkened, and he was staring straight through her with a painful grimace and lips turned downward.

Now Rey felt that there was nothing to turn her from that path. Just watching as the light left Luke's eyes, imagining how her friends fought in a senseless war, how millions of people suffered because of the imbalance in the Force under the iron fist of the First Order… How could she ignore it, how could she even think about refusing to do what was needed? For her Master and all the Jedi who had sacrificed their lives for justice and peace, for Finn who had chosen what had been right, and Poe who never lost his courage even in the direst of circumstances, for General Organa who had lost everything to the Dark Side and still continued on.

"Luke, what are you worried about?"

He snapped his attention to her face, a haunted look in his eyes. "I'll fail you. Obi-Wan was the epitome of Light, and until his death, he believed that he had failed my father. How can I ever even _think_ of being the teacher the Chosen One needs? Look at me, I'm just an old fool who is scared to access the Force, leave the island. How can I…"

As she gazed at him, she could clearly see it, the self-doubt in him, the fear of destroying everything around him, of turning to the Dark Side like his father and nephew had done. Rey refused to acknowledge – let alone break under – the pressure of expectations thrust upon her. She had the biggest, greatest motivation to be everything the universe expected her to be kneeling brokenly in front of her. Rey trusted in the Force – unlike Luke whose trust had been broken so many times. Yoda was right. Her Master needed to believe in himself, and her friend Luke needed Rey to show him that someone else already had.

"Remember what you said to me, the day Chewie flew away?" Rey put her hand on his cheek, mirroring his previous actions. She felt him give the faintest nod, his eyes boring into her with intensity. "I can't imagine walking this path without you. Did you see Yoda here with us just moments ago? The Force has connected us together. We are not alone, never will be as long as we have each other and the Light."

Rey hugged him next, resting her chin on his shoulder, and wished for the comforting warmth of his Force presence. However, their bond remained cold as his powers stayed hidden. It was enough, she told herself; being close to him in this way was enough, and she would need to remember not to be too greedy and impatient. She knew that Luke would recover all of his self-confidence now that they would hopefully get help from his old Master – with time.

"You humble me so, Rey," Luke said, pressing a featherlike kiss to her forehead in the sweetest manner. Then he leaned back and smiled gently, almost shyly as he looked into her eyes.

"I'll do as you wish, be there for you in any capacity you'll need me," he said. The first time, he had offered to walk with her, but now he had _promised_. At that moment, as she was getting lost in the blue of his eyes, Rey knew for certain that their lives were interwoven forever, and that they would walk the same paths without questions asked. She would follow him wherever he would lead, too.


	8. Chapter 8

Hello there, I'm sorry for the delay. I've had some issues with the doc manager here, and went ahead and posted on AO3 where you can find new chapters for the story if you are interested in reading it further. Thank you for your comments, they meant a lot and hopefully see you around.

You can find me under the pen name of Mad_Mage and here's the link to the story:

archiveofourown*org/works/13333410

Just replace * with .


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